Posts Tagged ‘idea generation’

A major misstep to be wary of after idea generation is rushing the convergence process. Like ideation, effective convergence – i.e. confluence that nets truly big ideas – requires planning, a broad-to-narrow approach, and time. To prevent throwing the baby out with the bath water, think S.M.A.R.T.E.R. with these simple steps to success:

Separate from ideation: It’s important to deliberately schedule separate time for convergence after the idea generation. This will give the narrowing process equally important billing to the ideation, and allow people time to refresh their brain power and shift gears mentally. It’s also advisable to do convergence off-site. This will cultivate a mindset of mental freedom which in turn encourages participants to carefully consider more innovative ideas.

More than once: Unique ideas are fragile and require the careful consideration achieved through multiple levels of review, including: 1) Shortly after ideation with the goal being to keep at least twice as many ideas as you intend to take into testing, 2) after the ideas are fleshed out further into written concepts, and 3) a quantitative sort with the end-user. As always, the quant should be prefaced with qualitative communication checks to refine the testing stimulus. Refrain from eliminating ideas as a result of the qualitative – let the quant be the judge.

Appropriate convergence techniques: For the first convergence, consider having people vote on ideas privately to start (e.g. via a worksheet with all the ideas listed and boxes to check pursue, don’t pursue, and comments). The facilitator can then review and cluster the votes, keeping the results blind. This approach mitigates confining groupthink, thereby encouraging more innovative idea choices. To push the envelope further, you can give voters a wildcard choice – that is, permission to select a “crazy” idea they have heart for regardless. At stage two convergence, after ideas have been fleshed out and written up, use a more refined approach that looks at the ideas against a more meticulous set of criteria.

Right people: The first convergence stage should include all those who participated in the ideation. At this point the ideas are in a raw state and may require some nurturing to gain momentum, i.e. further clarification/explanation. Additional, relevant parties are often a useful supplement to the later, more refined convergence process. They lend an outside perspective that often helps further illuminate pluses, minuses, and notable considerations. Also, cross-functional teams at every stage assures valuable, multidimensional assessment.

Time commitment: Be sure to schedule enough time to effectively converge. Fight the urge to short-shift the process in an effort to solely accommodate participant schedules. Also, allow for periodic breaks. Convergence is hard work, and brains need relief now and then to achieve optimal performance.

Explore before elimination: At all stages of convergence, before killing an idea, ask the team, “in what ways might we revise/change/recreate this idea to make it work?” Pursue solutions because the best ideas may very well be the worst ideas, simply changed.

Retain an outside facilitator: Using an outside professional to lead convergence assures unbiased direction, and allows all team members to focus on what they do best – lend their relevant expertise. Also, an experienced facilitator can efficiently negotiate differences of opinion, and keep the process moving forward.

The lightning-fast pace of business today presents undeniable challenges to establishing prescribed pause. But to truly innovate and come out on top, wise words from Leo Tolstoy sum it up best: The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.

How often have you heard someone say, “I’m not creative”? Worse yet, how many times have you thought that of yourself? Society has forever defined creativity as a natural gift primarily embodied by artistic types. But science suggests otherwise.

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has coined a state of being called “Flow” as an important contributor to creativity, and a state anyone can achieve. It is a form of intrinsic motivation to pursue an activity (doing something because you love it) where self-consciousness is lost, one surrenders completely to the moment, and time means nothing.1 Plainly, a Flow State is when you are so involved in an endeavor that you are thoroughly absorbed and focused, losing all track of time and mental preoccupations. It is important to note that Flow pursuits are not synonymous with all leisure activities. Flow inducing pursuits need to be challenging, goal oriented, providing of feedback, and enjoyable to YOU. Watching TV or visiting with a friend are leisure activities, while Flow ventures are:

· Physical activities like sports, dance, martial arts, etc.

· Playing music

· Arts and crafts

· Gardening

· Cooking/baking

· Writing

· DIY projects

· Scrapbooking

· And so on…

So how does Flow trigger creative thinking? Neurobiology. When in a state of Flow, brainwaves slow down and allow the uncensored blending of unrelated thoughts, thereby giving our brains a subconscious, lateral thinking workout. Flow also triggers the production of large quantities of norepinephrine, dopamine, endorphins, anandamide, and serotonin — all pleasure-inducing, performance-enhancing chemicals with considerable impacts on creativity.2 What’s more, not only are you more creative during Flow, your creativity is heightened the day after being in a Flow state, according to research done by Professor Theresa Amiable of Harvard Business School.3

Here are three practical ways to use Flow as fuel towards big ideas:

Sow n’ Flow: Jot down a problem or challenge for which you need a solution, framed using an idea starter like, “in what ways might I/we…” or “what are all the ways I/we could…”. Then set it aside and don’t think about it. Now get into your Flow. When you are deep into your Flow state, solutions to the problem/challenge seed you planted earlier are likely to emerge. When they do, quickly capture them (e.g. write them down or dictate them) – no matter how absurd – then continue in your flow. DO NOT stop and think about the ideas that surface. When you’re finished with your Flow activity, revisit the thoughts you captured (within a day or two) and use them as inspiration to address your problem or challenge.

Flow Today, Go Tomorrow: Make the conscious decision to engage in a Flow activity one day or several consecutive days before a planned brainstorming session. There’s no need to think about the subject of the brainstorming while you’re “Flowing”. Rather, the purpose of achieving a Flow state in this application is to warm-up and prepare your mind for the forthcoming creative engagement.

From the desk of Laura Duguid, Qualitative Researcher, Innovation Specialist

Recently I was asked to help design a workshop for aspiring idea generation facilitators. My charge was to devise an overview of divergent thinking techniques for use as a reference tool when designing ideation sessions.

The challenge gave me pause. How would I distill my 25+ years of ideation session design experience into a two-night class? Well, by starting with divergence of course! So, I let my mind wander, allowing incubation and inspiration to collaborate in my subconscious and…voila! A solution emerged. The scores of divergent processes I’ve played with, employed, customized and created over the years seemingly stem from five basic creative thinking strategies:

Free Association: A multi-purpose strategy useful for just about any ideation objective. It starts with posing a basic question, “What all comes to mind when you think of __________________,” then what the blank contains really gets creative juices flowing. Consider inserting rich language/descriptors, photography, art, music (actually play some!), texturally rich tactile items, scents, tastes/flavors, you name it! Ultimately, the group ends up with a wealth of divergent starting points to inspire new ideas. Popular free-association exercises include Creative Group Conversation, Mind Maps, and Lights Out.

Snowballing: This multi-purpose strategy encourages brainstorm participants to continually build on each other’s ideas again, and again, and again stimulating volume and therefore divergence. A technique called Brainwriting is one way to do it, but consider also things like teams filling-in two dozen empty blocks on a piece of easel paper or a relay race with prizes to generate the most ideas. Also, after any small group exercise, always group share and snowball further on the ideas.

Personification: Bringing to life a product, brand or service is a fantastic way to generate ideas for positioning, messaging, language, and descriptors. Portray your inanimate subject as super heroes; first, second, and/or third generation relatives; or famous people. For more tangible ideation objectives like new products, services, or line extensions, “person” work can also take the form of role playing (e.g. a target audience in various situations), and hypothetical product or services marriages and/or imagined offspring.

Force Fit: Taking what’s familiar and making it strange to get something new is a wonderfully radical way to get at new products, services, and line extension ideas. Popular force fit techniques include Random Word (pull a word at random from the dictionary and use it as a springboard to stimulate a new idea); Arthur Van Gundy’s Product Improvement Checklist (PICL); and Cross Categories.

Characterize & Change: Mostly applicable to product, service, and line extension work, simply characterize all the benefits or attributes of something and change one or more to get to new ideas. Or, use the more guided S.C.A.M.P.E.R. technique (take an existing idea/product/service and Substitute something, Change something, Maximize/Minimize something, Put it to other uses, Eliminate something, or Reverse it somehow). Another variation is the Negatives to Positives technique (list all the negatives of an idea/product/service then change them or replace them with something positive).

I encourage you to try a technique or two in your next brainstorming session, and experience first-hand the creative power of intentional divergence. Enjoy the ride!

Technology companies have set the bar high when it comes to expediency in new product innovation. What’s more, the products/services offered have contributed to a consumer mindset of instant gratification (in terms of shopping for and/or receipt of goods and services); and expectation for immediate and constant digital interaction with the companies from which they buy.

Interestingly, it is this perpetual customer-company communication norm that is playing a notable role in new product demand within the CPG industry. As observed by Cisco Systems, Inc., “…the [CPG] shopper becomes a major driver of innovation through e-commerce, omnichannel retailing and mobile platforms. Based on the increasing demands of its end users, companies have found they must create new products, achieve faster time to market and lower operational costs to remain competitive”.1 Additionally, Cisco cites one in five consumers as saying they are always looking for new products, the implication being that innovative merchandise is a significant basis for growth.

To this end, ongoing, deliberate idea generation is of paramount importance. The benefits of creating ideas regularly – rather than once every few years – is threefold:

Assures relevant ideas are always in the pipeline: Today’s constant customer-company interaction provides opportunity for discovering a wealth of compelling consumer insights, with new and interesting points of view streaming in regularly. Routinely scheduled brainstorming sessions using newly discovered insights assures relevant ideas are always on-the-ready to test with consumers.

Allows for creative depth: Regularly scheduled ideation sessions focusing on a few insights at a time allows for richer creative exploration. The result is stronger, more compelling ideas for consumer consideration.

Encourages and maintains a large quantity of ideas: While you may only need one good idea, continually creating many is essential. Statistically of course, a larger number of ideas increases the odds of hitting on a winning idea. Equally important however is recognizing quantity as a divergence technique. When brainstorming, the obvious ideas come out first. By pushing for quantity, you break out-of-the-box and reach higher levels of innovation.

Maybe your pipeline is already packed. No matter. Run regular ideation sessions to assess, modify and build upon what you’ve got. Try looking at the ideas using new consumer insights or market findings as creative lenses. Create all the ways an idea might be changed or re-created to be relevant again, considering the new findings. Keep your company’s creative juices flowing and you’re sure to stay in step with your consumer and boost your bottom line.